Now that we are halfway through the Nevada legislative session, it’s safe to say there is an assortment of thoughtful proposals. Then there are several that leave you scratching your head and asking, “What are they thinking?” The one thing they have in common is the ability to impact your business in positive or negative ways.

By now, you’ve likely read or heard about such high-profile bills as the Nevada Minimum Wage Increase (A.B. 456) and the Paid Sick Leave (S.B. 312). In keeping with trends over the last few sessions, these bills are employee-friendly, which is not necessarily employer friendly.

But are you aware of the proposed Self-Service Unemployment Tax (A.B. 394), which would require employers that utilize certain self-service devices (such as kiosks) operated by a customer to “enter prices and complete a purchase transaction" to pay a quarterly fee for each device in an amount equal to the average unemployment contribution per employee? In other words, businesses looking to save money by replacing employees with automated devices may not be completely home free. As with most things, arguments are being made for and against. Your job as concerned business owners is to research the pros and cons, and draw your own conclusions.

Lawmakers are also hearing a variety of other proposed bills from fixing issues with ID cards for prisoners, to prohibiting employers from not hiring someone because they test positive for marijuana to a pilot program for adult day care and assisted living services in rural Nevada.

The moral of the story is to contact your legislative representatives to express your opinion on items of concern or something you can support. As we’ve seen in the past, if you’re not paying attention, anything can happen.
Fundamentals: Marketing-Part I

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
– Simon Sinek
What is marketing:
The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P's of marketing:

  1. Identification, selection and development of a product
  2. Determination of its price
  3. Selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place
  4. Development and implementation of a promotional strategy.

For example, new Apple products are developed to include improved applications and systems, are set at different prices depending on how much capability the customer desires, and are sold in places where other Apple products are sold. In order to promote the device, the company features its debut at tech events and is highly advertised on the web and on television.

Marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. Marketing differs from selling because, in the words of Harvard Business School's retired professor of marketing Theodore C. Levitt, "Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse and satisfy customer needs." In other words, marketing has less to do with getting customers to pay for your product as it does with developing a demand for that product and fulfilling the customer's needs.

Reference: businessdictionary.com
Step 4: Avoidance

“Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition—such as lifting weights—we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.”
- Stephen Covey
At Eagle Corporate Advisors, we help you chart a course, cross bridges, avoid obstacles and stay on track to keep you and your business on the best path to your success. We call this roadmap “The Six A’s.”

The fourth step is “Avoidance,” which means identifying and steering clear of pitfalls along the way. These obstacles can be business or personal. And sometimes both at the same time. As business owners and executives, we know that the line between our professional and private lives is often blurry at best.

When we approach potential pitfalls, we do it with a positive attitude. Even in the more challenging cases, the first question is always the same: “How can we use these difficulties as tools to make your company bigger, better, faster, stronger?”

Here are just a few of the warning signs that can impede your progress on the journey toward reaching your desired outcomes:
  • No estate plan
  • No succession or transition plan
  • Co-mingling of expenses or assets
  • Weak management team
  • Inconsistent sales or profits
  • Too many eggs in too few baskets
  • Litigation
  • Lack of employee buy-in
  • Ineffective communication
  • Inadequate insurance coverage
  • No or improper business valuation
  • No marketing plan
Any or all of these shortcomings can derail your business or personal plans. The sooner and more effectively you deal with them, the better. Part of our mission to “Perform Higher” is to identify whether your company is capable of handling your objectives, tactics, and actions or whether outside help needs to be brought in. If outside help is the better option, Eagle Corporate Advisors will recommend trusted supplemental advisors with whom we have existing relationships. This may include attorneys, banks, CPAs, insurance specialists, marketing firms, real estate professionals, wealth managers, and more.
 
No matter your business and personal goals, Eagle Corporate Advisors strives to accompany you on your journey to personal, financial and emotional freedom, just as we have for many other business owners.
Goal Setting
In our January issue, we urged you to take a proactive approach to goal setting. We recommended setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) to help ensure that your goals are clear and reachable. Now, with the first quarter of 2019 already under our belts, this would be a good time to revisit your goals and determine what you’ve accomplished and where you may have missed the mark.

If you find you’ve fallen a bit short, it’s never too late to make a course adjustment. It may be as simple as giving yourself more time to fully realize your goal, or it may require more drastic action. Either way, please feel free to contact Eagle Corporate Advisors any time for an objective outside analysis. Sometimes all you need is a mentor to help get you back on track.
Motivated by helping people achieve their dreams, Chuck Mohler has more than 25 years’ experience in business operations, financial consulting, real estate and trust deed investments. As founder of Eagle Corporate Advisors, he uses his vast experience to serve as advisor, coach, and mentor for business professionals who realize they can’t always know it all and do it all.

Beyond his impressive list of credentials and understanding of business owner’s needs, Chuck is well-respected for his dedication and desire to serve his clients above and beyond their expectations.
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Las Vegas, Nevada 89123